The Cold-Case Christianity Podcast

In this extended episode, cold-case detective and Christian apologist J. Warner Wallace investigates every one of Jesus' Sabbath miracles and controversies as if they were crime scenes on a case board. Instead of treating these passages as isolated "nice healings," J. Warner stacks them side by side—Capernaum, the withered hand, Bethesda, the bent woman, the man with dropsy, the man born blind—and...

Is Jesus really God, or did the church just make that up later? In this episode of Cold-Case Christianity, homicide detective and Christian apologist J. Warner Wallace works through the Gospel of John like a case file, pulling one key piece of evidence from each chapter (John 2–21) to test the viral claim, "Jesus never even said He was God." You'll see how titles, reactions, and "hidden in plain s...

In this episode, J. Warner Wallace joins  The Bill Arnold Show  to discuss how followers of Jesus can thoughtfully respond to the recent events in Minneapolis. Drawing on his background as a cold-case detective and Christian apologist, J. Warner explores how to separate facts from headlines, think biblically about justice, authority, and race, and model truth and hope in a culturally divided momen...

Is the Shroud of Turin a genuine relic of Jesus, a medieval hoax, or something else entirely? In this second episode on the Shroud of Turin, cold-case detective and Christian apologist J. Warner Wallace examines the shroud the way he would any piece of evidence in a homicide trial, focusing on chain of custody, historical silence, and what the earliest Christians actually relied on to make the cas...

Are our favorite superheroes just modern myths—or are they clues that we were made for something more? In this episode, cold-case detective and Christian apologist J. Warner Wallace takes you on a deep dive into the "theology of superheroes." Drawing from Marvel, DC, and other comic-book universes, J. Warner explores how the attributes we assign to our heroes—unlimited power, knowledge, justice, m...

Many Christians say, "Just preach the gospel—God will do the rest." But Scripture paints a richer picture: the gospel is the power of God for salvation, and God still calls us to reason, explain, and persuade. In this episode, J. Warner Wallace walks through key passages—from Romans and Proverbs to the book of Acts—to show how Jesus' first followers actually shared the message. You'll see why Pete...

In this conversation,  J. Warner Wallace  joins  Janelle Wood  from  Finding Something Real  to examine the  case for Christianity  through the lens of a  cold-case detective . Together they explore  evidence, doubt, and the reliability of the Gospels , offering practical help for anyone wrestling with whether  Christianity is really true . Watch more from  Finding Something Real with Janelle Wood...

In this episode, J. Warner Wallace — cold-case detective, Christian apologist, and author of  God's Crime Scene  — reacts to the most viral atheist claims circulating on TikTok right now and runs them through the same forensic framework he used to solve decades-old murders. The central question:  Can you account for all the evidence in the universe by staying inside the universe? Whether you're a...

In this episode, I put five of Jesus' hardest sayings under the investigative spotlight. As a cold-case homicide detective, I've spent my career testing witness statements, examining context, and following the evidence wherever it leads. In this "case file," I apply that same approach to some of the most troubling verses in the Gospels. Along the way, I'll walk through investigative tools you can...

Faith is not supposed to be blind, reckless, or detached from reality. In this episode, J. Warner Wallace (cold-case detective and Christian apologist) takes a hard look at the way many Christians think about "faith" and shows why some popular versions of faith are not just weak—they're dangerous to the church. He explains the difference between unreasonable faith, blind faith, and reasonable (for...

In this episode, cold-case homicide detective and Christian apologist J. Warner Wallace walks through the "spiritual crime scene" of his own journey from skeptical naturalist to follower of Jesus. Drawing on decades of investigative experience, he explains why the usual reasons people give for being Christians ("I was raised this way" or "I had an experience") are not uniquely Christian, and why t...

In this episode, cold-case homicide detective and Christian apologist J. Warner Wallace finally turns his investigative lens on one of the most talked-about religious artifacts in history: the Shroud of Turin. Is it a medieval forgery created for profit, or a powerful piece of physical evidence that points to the crucifixion of Jesus? J. Warner walks through the chain of custody, the historical re...

In this episode of the Cold-Case Christianity podcast, J. Warner Wallace tackles one of the most controversial and misunderstood doctrines in the Christian worldview: the Trinity. Drawing on his experience as a cold-case homicide detective, J. Warner treats the identity of God like a crime scene, building a suspect profile from Scripture and then asking: Who actually fits the evidence?   J. Warner...

In this episode of the Cold-Case Christianity podcast, J. Warner Wallace takes you inside the current crisis of confidence in American law enforcement—from the perspective of someone who actually wore the badge. Drawing on decades of experience as a gang officer, undercover cop, SWAT operator, and cold-case homicide detective, Jim helps Christians think more clearly and biblically about the role o...

Jesus is NOT God…or is He? In this episode, I walk through the claim that "Jesus is NOT God" and treat it like a case file—testing it against Scripture, the beliefs of the earliest Christians, and the logical consequences if this claim were actually true. We'll look at key passages often used to deny Jesus' deity, examine what the first followers of Jesus really believed about Him, and ask what ha...

Is the story of Noah's flood just another ancient myth, borrowed from earlier pagan texts, or a record of a real historical catastrophe? In this episode of the Cold-Case Christianity podcast, J. Warner Wallace applies his investigative experience as a cold-case homicide detective to examine the Genesis flood account. He compares it with stories like Atrahasis and the Epic of Gilgamesh, traces worl...

In this episode of the Cold-Case Christianity Podcast, J. Warner Wallace tackles one of the most important questions in the Christian faith: Is Jesus truly God, or just a created agent of God? Limiting the "evidence" to three key passages—John 1, Colossians 1, and Hebrews 1—he works through the text like an investigative case file, showing how each "chapter one" presents Jesus as Creator, sustaine...

Would first‑century Christians even recognize what we call "church" today? In this episode, J. Warner Wallace uses a simple "alien thought experiment" to examine how closely (or how poorly) our modern church models resemble the church described in the book of Acts. Drawing from his own journey—from walking into a megachurch as a 35‑year‑old skeptic, to serving in a mid‑sized church, to planting a...

This episode walks through John 1 verse by verse to show why the apostle John leaves no room for a "just-a-prophet" Jesus and instead presents Him clearly as the eternal, divine Word of God. Drawing on cold-case investigative principles and the cumulative-case approach he used in homicide trials, J. Warner Wallace explains how the language, structure, and Old Testament echoes in the opening of Joh...

This episode reframes how we think about love and relationships by contrasting fragile, contract-style arrangements with the resilient, biblical model of covenant. Drawing from marriage research, Scripture, and decades of walking with couples in crisis, J. Warner Wallace explains why seeing marriage (and other key relationships) as covenants radically changes how you date, marry, and relate—whethe...

This episode wrestles with  trauma , murder, and suffering, and explains why the way you see the world—your worldview—largely determines how deeply you are wounded and how you process life's most painful events. Drawing from real cold-case homicides and personal conversations with victims' families, J. Warner Wallace shows how expectations about God, goodness, justice, and life itself either shatt...

This episode challenges the modern obsession with  platforms  and "ministry success" and asks whether followers of Jesus have quietly replaced real service with a pursuit of visibility, funding, and fame. Drawing from years of case work, tentmaking ministry, and mentoring aspiring apologists, J. Warner Wallace contrasts the quiet, often unseen work of everyday Christian service with the drive to b...

This episode looks at why  humility  is the one trait that can quietly destroy our obsession with celebrity, platform, and approval—and why it may be the key to saving your soul in a culture built on self-promotion. Drawing from cold-case investigations, Scripture, and decades in ministry, J. Warner Wallace shows how the pursuit of fame, followers, and influence so often leads to moral compromise,...

This episode explores why your  identity  is the most important thing about you and how Scripture calls followers of Jesus to root who they are in Christ rather than in changing roles, emotions, or cultural labels. Drawing from social research, biblical theology, and real-life examples from law enforcement, ministry, and family, J. Warner Wallace exposes the lies that say you are what you do, what...

J. Warner Wallace is interviewed by Pastor David Fleming of Champion Forest Baptist Church and talks about the importance of becoming a good Christian Case Maker and a specific strategy for selecting those with whom we share what we believe. This excerpt is from a longer interview with apologist Mark Lanier .